New Friends Pt. 1

It was strange to feel nothing after being in such incomprehensible suffering. Like before, the world was still dark, but the pain (and any other feeling for that matter) Cress had felt was gone. She could breathe again, or, more accurately, she wasn't suffocating anymore since it didn't feel like she was breathing at all. There was nothing.

"Ah. I died. I guess I was right, there really is nothing." Cress's mind felt dazed and hazy. "I wish I could tell mom I was right. It was always so much fun proving her wrong. Not that it matters now. I just hope this goes away too, though. I don't want to exist in a void for the rest of time."

"…hey."

"Hey yourself. I said I don't want to exist in a void, not that I wanted company."

"…Hey you!"

"Are you going to tell me to listen next? What are you, a stupid blue fairy?"

"You need to wake up!"

Cress's eyes fluttered open, though they didn't focus well enough for her to see. Her vision was like looking through fogged glass. All she could make out was flashes of red and yellow and movement behind the blob directly in front of her.

"Thank the gods, you're alive!"

A sharp ringing filled Cress's ears and she flinched, curling her body slightly.

"Don't move! You're still in critical condition! If you move around too much your wounds might open up again."

"How'd I make it to a hospital…" Cress murmured. "I thought I died."

"Almost." The ringing in Cress's ears quieted and she could just barely make out the soft, whimsical voice laden with concern talking to her. "I managed to heal you just in time, but you'll have to hang tight while we deal with the Cave Stalker that attacked you."

"Cave Stalker?" Cress's throat clenched in defiance, forcing her voice into whispered submission. "That giant spider?"

"Just rest and we'll talk in a moment."

Cress's head bobbed in a weak nod and she stared at the brightly lit sandstone ceiling above her. Her vision was clearing, though she didn't have the energy to lift her head and see what was going on. All she knew was she had survived and that was enough.

"I guess I get to tell Mom she was wrong after all," Cress chuckled to herself. "Though I'm not sure it counts if you come back to life. Maybe that's why I didn't go to pearly Cloudville."

"I swear, you're just like your father!" Cress's mom would say. "You'll never make it into Heaven if you make jokes like that!"

"I'll have to go with Mom and Ian to church next time I'm home just in case. But what's going on? First a giant…" Cress's body convulsed and she gagged as she imagined the eight giant eyes that had stared at her through the darkness. Her heart started to race in her chest and she couldn't breathe… then the panic faded as a warm feeling that reminded her of being snuggled under a heated blanket with her mom enveloped her. "What was that? That… thing, flashes of fire… I guess that clanging against the stone is probably a sword…"

"God dammit. I got isekaied."

Cress had always loved anime, especially magical girl and mecha anime. Cute, bright, flashy animation was her favorite and she loved the feel good stories and drama that came with the genres. Unfortunately, her favorite genres had fallen out of popularity, replaced by what she felt was the first sign of the anime apocalypse, isekai. It wasn't the concept that she hated; she didn't mind the idea of crossing into fantasy worlds and going on adventures. Or that's how she felt when she was a child. Maybe it was because Ian had introduced her to older shows from before she was born or because she hated power fantasies. Either way, she could no longer stand the genre. Every season was flooded with sub-par, generic, incel harem fantasy, isekai shows that made it nearly impossible for other genres to flourish.

"Maybe I should call this one Transported to Another World with Arachnophobia!" It wasn't a good joke, but Cress was thankful she could joke at all.

The fighting continued for longer than Cress thought it would, though it did eventually die down. She thought there's be a triumphant cheer ringing through the cave after the spider was killed. Instead all she could hear was irate grumbling.

"We're using too many supplies fighting these small fry! At this rate, even if we find the queen spider, we'll be too weak to kill it."

"Let's talk about that after we check on that girl," the wispy voice from earlier replied to the gruff, complaining man. "I patched her up, but she needs to be seen by a doctor or high priest."

"She was that bad?" a new, energetic voice asked. "I guess she does look like shit."

"Rude," Cress mumbled. "You'd probably look just as bad as me if you went through what I did."

"I doubt that," the energetic voice said with a suave inflection. "Even my corpse will be beautiful."

"Knock it off, Dian. No one thinks your jokes are funny."

"I can't see him, but I'm guessing he's the flirty pretty boy of the group. Probably an archer or something."

"I don't care what she looks like. Just figure out what we're doing with her so we can finish the quest."

"And I bet he's a tall, buff, warrior with a scar over his eye. I guess that would mean the girl that healed me is a priestess."

"Can you sit up?"

Cress nodded limply and with the help of the priestess she sat up. The party only consisted of three people and they fit Cress's guesses fairly closely. The warrior was buff with a scar, though the scar was on his cheek and he wasn't particularly tall. The blond pretty boy technically had a bow, though it was two hand crossbows complimented by a pair of worn, but well maintained daggers on his hips. Cress figured the priestess would have blonde hair, blue eyes, and be wearing a white robe, and she was half right. While the priestess wore a white robe, it was dirty and frayed at the bottom, and her bobbed hair and eyes were black.

"What's your name?" the Priestess asked.